Chapter Three
“Where are you going to sleep?” Elizabeth asked as she stood near the too-big bed. The adrenaline high had faded from her body, and exhaustion pulled at her. But before she collapsed, she had to do one thing—make certain Saxon isn’t planning to climb into the bed with me.
His eyes, so dark and deep, drifted toward the bed. “Where do you think?”
No way. “You can’t sleep with me!”
Saxon’s lips quirked. His lips were…sexy. It was ridiculous to notice that, but she did. Sculpted and firm, his lips had fit so well against her own. Do not go there, woman! Yes, she was seriously exhausted. So exhausted that she was having crazy, sexual thoughts.
“Come on now, sweetheart, there’s plenty of room for the two of us in that bed.”
No, there wasn’t. Sure, the bed was big, but Saxon was huge. If they were both in that bed, their bodies would be touching. Legs, arms—twining. The mental images flooded through her mind, and Elizabeth felt her cheeks burn. Frantic now, she grabbed a pillow and the faded bedcover and sank to her knees on the floor. “I’ll just bunk down here then, and you can take the—ah!”
He’d put his hands under her elbows and lifted her up. The guy’s strength was really impressive—not that she was the type to be impressed. But he held her so easily, lifting her up until they were on eye level. “You aren’t sleeping on the floor.”
His voice had deepened even more. Turned to more of a growl.
She swallowed. She shouldn’t have found that growl sexy. The man was scary. Her mind should be screaming warnings at her and not slipping her little fantasies about the guy. Maybe she was going crazy.
He lowered her onto the bed. “I’m not that much of a dick, no matter what you think. Stay in the bed. I wasn’t planning on getting much sleep anyway.” Then he…he tucked her in. His hands were oddly tender as he arranged the pillow beneath her head and then pulled up the covers. She was still wearing her clothes—like she’d been going to ditch them—and his fingers skated lightly down her arms.
She thought he might try to kiss her. Try to touch her somewhere else. Try to—
“You’re safe.”
He turned off the lights.
She blinked a few fast and frantic times as she tried to adjust to the darkness. Then she saw his shadowy form lowering to the floor beside the bed. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Silence then… “Ah, there it is. I knew that, sooner or later, you’d get around to saying those sweet words.”
Tears wanted to fill her eyes because she realized that the man down there—the man who scared her—was actually her savior. “If it hadn’t been for you, I’d be dead.”
“Yes.”
Well, he wasn’t pulling any punches.
“And it wouldn’t have been an easy death,” Saxon continued, his deep voice filling that dark room. “The thing about Kurt Taggert…people don’t just hire him to kill. They hire him to torture. To make his victims hurt.”
His words chilled her. Elizabeth turned onto her side and found herself inching closer to him in the dark. “You sound as if…as if you’re speaking from personal experience.”
“He killed someone I know.”
She remembered what he’d said back at the bar. “Jenny.”
More silence. She didn’t like his silence. She liked the rumble of his voice. Elizabeth cleared her throat. “He killed your…friend, Jenny?” Because Kurt had called her an FBI turncoat. And since Saxon was FBI, too—
“He hurt Jenny. He found out that she was working undercover, and he took her…before I could do anything to help her.”
There was pain in his voice. She wanted to reach out and touch him, to take that pain away. Instead, her fingers fisted around her covers. “I’m sorry.”
“So the fuck am I. Jenny had a family. A husband who loved her. Now that husband has to bury her.” His words were growled out, his fury evident. “Jenny wasn’t made for undercover work. Some people just can’t handle it—becoming someone else for so long. She made a mistake, Kurt caught it, and he caught her.”
Her lips pressed together. I would have died if it hadn’t been for Saxon. The truth was sinking in and terrifying her now that they were cocooned in the darkness of the room. “You…you were working undercover.” Because Kurt had been afraid of Saxon when the guy first burst into that back room at The Blade.
“Yes.”
“How long have you been on this case?” A case that had obviously been designed to bring down Taggert.
“Long enough.”
That wasn’t an answer. “Is your name really Saxon?”
“My legal name? Hell, no, but legal doesn’t matter, does it? I’ve been undercover for so long, I’m not even sure I can remember who the hell I really am. Or what I really look like. My hair changes, my eyes change—everything changes with each case. Some days, I almost forget who is staring back at me from the mirror.”
She had the urge to touch him again. What was up with that? Elizabeth kept wanting to soothe him but the guy was definitely not the soothing type. “How am I supposed to repay you?” she whispered.
“You could fuck me.”
Her jaw dropped.
And he laughed. “I wish I could see your face right now.”
Her cheeks were burning again. “I’m not having sex with you as payment!”
“Good…because I don’t pay for sex.”
But he’d just said—
“Teasing you is so much fun.”
Her eyes squeezed closed. “Good night, Saxon.” Her words held an edge of their own.
“Good night, Elizabeth.”
She shivered. It was the first time he’d actually called her by name. Such a low, rough voice. A voice that seemed to perfectly fit the darkness.
“And if you get scared, just remember, I’m here.”
She kept her eyes closed and slowly, so slowly, she slipped into sleep.
***
“Victor?”
He turned at the voice and saw the two best agents on his team walking toward him. Tracy Adams and Gary Warren. Tracy had gotten out of the Academy just two years ago, but the redhead had more than proven herself on the cases she’d been given. Smart, dedicated, and not afraid to get her hands bloody, Tracy always got the job done.
In many ways, Gary was Tracy’s opposite. He’d been working for the Bureau over fifteen years, but he’d just joined Victor’s team a little less than two years ago. And field work, well, it wasn’t exactly his specialty. The guy preferred to work in the wings, hunched over a computer as he called the shots from a safe distance. He was Victor’s eyes and ears on so many of the undercover cases, thanks to all of his gadgets.
And those eyes and ears should have been watching Taggert. Victor glared at Gary. “How the hell did this happen?”
Tracy slanted a fast glance at her partner.
“All you had to do was keep the guy alive,” Victor said as his hands waved toward the stiff on the floor. “I mean, you were wired to this place. Why the hell didn’t I know he was dead?” He’d busted in the place, ready to take down Taggert, and the guy had been in a pool of his own blood.
Gary’s chin lifted and his face paled, but he held Victor’s stare. “Because someone cut my feeds. I was trying to get them back up and running, but then you pulled in and—you found him.”
Victor’s fury surged. “If someone cut the feeds, why didn’t you storm inside?” Right damn away?
Now Gary looked at Tracy.
She swallowed. “I did, sir. I did a visual sweep. The area looked secure, so I went back out and told Gary he had more time for the repair work. We were watching the front door and the back door, so the guy wasn’t going to get out—”
Victor’s hands dropped. “He was dead. There was no point in him going out.” But the killer had gotten out. Just waltzed right past them all. “Tell me you saw the man who did this.”
Tracy and Gary were silent.
“Not fucking good,” Victor snarled at them.
Gary backed up a step. Tracy’s chin lifted. She didn’t retreat, not ever. That was one of the things Victor liked about her.
“Saxon has Elizabeth Ward in protective custody now,” Victor said. Tracy and Gary hadn’t even realized that Saxon had been working the big Taggert case until about twenty-four hours ago. Saxon had been in deep cover, and his status had been on a need-to-know basis. But when it came time for Saxon to get wired up, Victor had informed the other two agents about Saxon’s role. When Victor had wired up Saxon, he’d needed to bring them into the loop.
Then things went to shit when we saw Taggert dragging Elizabeth Ward into The Blade.
But, hell, at least they’d managed to save the girl. “He got her out, and I set them up in the Moontree Motel.” He knew they’d both know the place. His team had used the location before because it was so very good at being an off-the-radar spot. “But we need to help Saxon. We need to find out why the hell someone is after Ms. Ward.” They had to find out and stop the SOB.
Gary nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“I’m on it,” Tracy said.
They rushed away, and Victor turned back as Taggert was hauled out in a body bag.
***
Saxon stretched out on the floor. His hands were behind his head, the only cushion that he had. He’d spent the night in much worse places. Much better ones, too.
Elizabeth was asleep. Her breathing had finally evened out, and she’d escaped her fears as she sank into her dreams. He wondered if she’d have good dreams or if nightmares would come to haunt her.
Saxon had one dream. The same dream he’d had for years.
Yeah, I do…I want to get the hell out of undercover work. I want to stop looking over my shoulder every moment and wondering if I’m going to blow my cover. I want something good. Something not tainted by evil…something that is mine.
The flash of headlights illuminated the motel room, and he tensed. A car door slammed a few moments later, and he heard the thud of approaching footsteps. But those steps didn’t stop at room number thirteen. They kept walking, and some of the battle-ready tension eased from his body.
He shifted his position a bit, and Saxon closed his eyes. He should try to get a little sleep, too. Victor would be checking in soon, and then their time at the no-tell-motel would be at an end. It would be—
The floor squeaked, the faintest sound that could have just been the building settling. It could have been nothing, but Saxon knew the squeak for the threat it was. His eyes shot open and, in the dark, he could just make out the shadowy form that had slipped through what should have been a locked connecting door to the room. That figure was rushing toward the bed.
You don’t even see me on the floor, do you, asshole? That was the guy’s mistake. Saxon yanked out the knife from his boot, and he threw it. The blade sank into the fellow’s shoulder and he let out a pain-filled yell.
The sound immediately woke Elizabeth and she jerked up-right with her own scream.
But Saxon was already moving. The knife hadn’t taken out their unwelcome visitor, and the guy was lifting his weapon. Saxon launched his body at Elizabeth and they rolled right off the bed even as the blast of gunfire filled the room.
When they hit the floor, he was on top of Elizabeth, their bodies pressed intimately close. “Don’t move,” he ordered, but he didn’t have time to make sure she obeyed. Keeping low, he rushed back toward the jerk who’d snuck into the room—the jerk who was way too damn trigger happy. Saxon moved fast and used his strong night vision to his advantage. When the guy tried to swing his weapon toward Saxon, it was too late. He grabbed the guy’s wrist, twisted until he heard the snap, and the gun fell to the floor. Then Saxon yanked the knife from the guy’s shoulder and put it at the fellow’s throat.
That move stopped the idiot from fighting him.
“Who the hell are you?” Saxon demanded.
The lights flashed on around him. What the hell?
He glanced back over his shoulder. Elizabeth had moved. She was standing up, and she’d been the one to turn on the lights.
The guy in his grasp started laughing. “Doesn’t matter who I am. You’re the dead one. Dead, dead—”
Saxon yelled, “Get down!” to Elizabeth at the exact same moment he yanked the laughing bastard in front of him, using the guy as a human shield. A second later, gunfire erupted, littering the motel room. The man’s body jerked against Saxon when the bullets hit him. Bullets that had been intended to kill Saxon…and Elizabeth.
When the gunfire stopped, he dropped the guy. The man was still alive, but Saxon wasn’t sure how long that would be the case without medical intervention. Saxon crawled for Elizabeth as fast as he could. Be alive. Be alive! Once the gunfire had erupted, he’d heard no sound from her.
The lights were still on. Too bright. Giving whoever was outside too much of an advantage. The thin shade would be no help—any watchers outside would be able to see right through it with those lights blazing.
“Elizabeth?”
She jerked at his whisper. She’d curled up into the fetal position, with her hands over her head. Her eyes found his, and he hated to see the tears glistening in her green stare. “What’s happening?”
“Someone’s trying to kill us, sweetheart.” That one was fairly obvious, but his words weren’t mocking. Elizabeth looked as if she might be in shock, and he needed her to try and keep things together, for just a little while longer. “And we have to get the hell out of here.” Because he didn’t know just how many someones were waiting outside. He did know the man moaning on the floor. When the light had flashed, he’d recognized the guy. That was one of Taggert’s goons. Tommy Haines. One of the guys who’d been at The Blade when Saxon had taken Elizabeth away. Taggert had sent out his attack dogs, and their mission must be to bring down Saxon and Elizabeth. By any means necessary.
He took her hand in his. “We’re going out the back. Stay with me, got it?”
She nodded.
Then she crawled after him as Saxon made his way to the bathroom. The “back” exit was actually the window in the bathroom. One that was a bit too narrow, but it would have to work. He’d put his knife back in its sheath, and he’d taken Tommy’s gun. They weren’t going out there unarmed, and he sure as hell wouldn’t hesitate to fire if they came under attack.
“I’ll go through first,” he told her, the words barely a breath of sound. “Then you come out when I tell you, got it?”
The bathroom was dark, so he couldn’t see if she was still crying or if she’d turned ashen with horror, but he heard her whisper, “Got it.”
That was good enough for him. He shoved open the window, punched out the screen, and climbed out. He hit the ground with a hard roll, and he came up with his knife gripped in his fist. But no one was there.
He heard a loud crash then, the sound of wood splintering, and Saxon knew the reason no one was waiting out back—it was because the bastards had just broken into the motel room.
“Now!” Saxon called to Elizabeth. “Come to me, now!”
She jumped through the window and straight into his arms. Over her shoulder, he saw two men running through the motel room. Oh, yeah, he knew those bastards, too. He’d seen them plenty at The Blade. Flint Mayo and Romeo Gustav. Errand boys for Taggert. Or in this case, hunters for the SOB.
Saxon caught her, holding her tight, and he didn’t even pause. He pushed her behind him, lifted his weapon, and fired. Flint and Romeo dove for cover, and while those guys were covering their asses, Saxon and Elizabeth started running hell fast for the line of cars that were parked nearby. They had to get out of there.
He hit the old parking lot even as he heard shouts behind him. He put Elizabeth on her feet, and he punched in the window of the closest vehicle. Glass rained down and he shoved the chunks out of his way so that he could unlock the door.
“Saxon—”
He pushed Elizabeth into the truck.
Getting inside the vehicle had been the easy part.
Getting the old truck to move…before they got their heads blown off…
Tricky.
His hands went to work under the dashboard.
Bam! Bam!
Two bullets had just slammed into the side of the truck.
But Saxon had just succeeded in hot-wiring the ride, and the truck’s engine was growling to life. He shifted gears, reversed fast and hard, and sent their attackers scrambling for their lives. Then he slammed that gas pedal all the way against the floorboard and got them the hell out of there.
Taggert’s men had found them, but they would be running back to their boss empty-handed.
A red light was up ahead. Saxon didn’t even slow down. He raced through it. Then he turned to the left. A few moments later, he took a hard right. He would make sure no one followed his trail.
“Are you hurt?” he demanded. Things had moved so fast that he hadn’t been able to check and make sure none of those flying bullets had hit her.
“No.” Hushed. Then… “How did they find us?”
“Taggert has his men looking for you.” She was obviously a prize that Taggert wasn’t going to let go. “In this town, people will sell out their own mothers for the right amount of money. Someone saw us, someone with the wrong connection to Taggert’s men.” One possible explanation and the only story he’d give her right then. The second explanation? Well, that would be that someone in the FBI had sold them out to Taggert. Victor’s team would have known about Elizabeth’s extraction from that bar. They would have known about her temporary safe house at the motel.
Did one of those team members turn on us?
The idea that an FBI agent had turned on him sure as hell pissed Saxon off. Because if someone had offered him up to Taggert…Maybe Jenny didn’t screw up and blow her cover after all. Maybe someone sold her out…the same way they just tried to serve us up to Taggert on a silver platter.
“You saved my life…” There was a faint pause. “Again.”
He took the right turn up ahead. “So where’s my—”
“Thank you,” Elizabeth told him softly, “now how about you slow down so that you aren’t the one to kill us both?”
He smiled and slowed down.
But his gaze kept sliding back to the rear-view mirror. There was no sign of pursuers behind them, not yet.
He had to find a safe place for her, then he needed to contact the only guy he actually trusted with his life—Victor had better have a way out of this nightmare.
Because Saxon wasn’t just going to sit idly by while some jackass tried to kill him.
I’ll fight back, and any fools who come after me—they’ll die.
Freedom was too close. No one would take this chance at a new life away from him. No one.